Cops in city to trace 2-yr-old's tormentors

After 12 days of hunting for leads, the Delhi police have made some headway in the case of Falak -- the two-year-old who was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on January 18 with several injuries and human bite marks -- as they have traced the alleged main accused Raj Kumar to Mumbai.

"A team from Sangam Vihar police station is camping in Mumbai. We tracked Kumar's relatives and followed him to Mumbai," said DCP (South district) Chhaya Sharma yesterday.

Breahthrough? Even as AIIMS doctors conducted a life-saving operation on Falak, the Delhi police have launched a massive manhunt for Raj Kumar, who is believed to be the main suspect in the case

The police also released a photograph of Kumar yesterday in order to make search operations easier.

While the teenager who brought Falak to the hospital is in a juvenile home, the police have clarified that both Falak and the minor had been kidnapped. Investigators said they have identified a crucial link and a woman named Lakshmi is being questioned.

"Lakshmi, who was in possession of the child, is providing us with vital clues that will help us nab Raj Kumar and solve the case," said an official.

'Caretakers' galoreAuthorities believe that Raj Kumar got Falak from a man called Manoj, who got her from Lakshmi. And Lakshmi came into the possession of Falak from another woman called Munni, said the police.

"Lakshmi gave the child to Manoj, who entrusted the girl to Raj Kumar. He took the child to his house in November but his wife refused to keep her. It was then that Raj Kumar took the baby to the teenage girl that he was living with in Dwarka," added the official.

According to the cops, he then left the child with the teen and fled to Mumbai.

Meanwhile, Falak's health has deteriorated since Sunday night.

"She had to be put back on the ventilator on Sunday night because of a chest infection. We also performed a minor brain surgery on her today [Monday] because of accumulation of a fluid in the brain," said an AIIMS doctor. Falak's condition has been critical since she was admitted.

The case so farFalak was brought to the hospital with severe head injuries, both her arms broken, bite marks all over her body and her cheeks branded with hot iron. She was brought to the hospital by a teenage girl who claimed to be her mother. The woman cited a fall from the bed as the reason for the child's wounded state.

While admitting the baby, the girl said that she lived along with her 'husband' Raj Kumar Gupta in a paying guest accommodation in Mahipalpur area of south Delhi.